Buyer beware of WGA
Getting around Microsoft’s stupid Windows Genuine Advantage verification process is easy, but not for everyone. Those who pirated Vista and are using an illegal key will have to remain diligent in keeping their hacks up-to-date, but for the rest, expect a new kind of OS experience. Says a local Microsoft rep about pirated copies of Vista:
“Good afternoon, as of this week, Microsoft has activated a function in Vista called ‘Reduced Functionality.’ This is a specific function in Vista that effectively disables nongenuine copies of Windows. Therefore anyone who has a pirated copy of Vista will experience:
A black screen after one hour of browsing
No start menu or task bar
No desktopPlease communicate this antipiracy initiative from Microsoft to your resellers — note this function has only just been activated in Vista worldwide and therefore any issues with nongenuine versions will start to arise from now onward.”
So by “Reduced Functionality” you really mean “Jesus Christ, now my computer has become completely useless”, right Microsoft? I mean I understand maybe taking away IE, Notepad, and some other key parts of Windows, but making the screen turn black? What the hell! Keep this crap up and you won’t even have a functional OS anymore.
Black screen of darkness to haunt Vista pirates [Computer World]